The Glass Straw Guy presents

STRAW WARS USA

Enjoy photos of 1,000+ friends with glass straws in SIXTY countries on SEVEN continents!

See the photos Why reject plastic?

Debbie Harry and John — Debbie Harry of Blondie & John, December 2015, WTTW Soundstage Studio, Chicago, IL

The Plastic Clock

Plastic made worldwide since 1950

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Made so far this year

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Made so far today

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Since you opened this page

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Rate right now

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Recycled plastic in this year’s output

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New plastic from oil and gas this year

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Recycled share

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Plastic made from plants this year

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Microplastic particles eaten in protein foods by all Americans since you opened this page

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By one American so far this year

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Metric tonnes (t). Production 1950–2019: Geyer, Jambeck & Law (2017) and OECD (2022). Later years estimated and projected from Plastics Europe world production data (2018–2024). Recycled share: Plastics Europe, Fast Facts 2025. Plant-based share: European Bioplastics (1.67 Mt produced in 2025). Microplastics: average of about 11,500 particles per person per year from protein foods alone (Milne et al. 2024), so a low estimate.

Visit The Plastic Clock → · Presidential priority

Latest friends

Glass straws, great company

Svengoolie and John — Horror Host Icon, Svengoolie! & John, July 2026

Natalie Scharf and John — Natalie Scharf (aka Anita X. Orcist) and John

Jakob Dylan — Jakob Dylan - The Wallflowers

Joel Paterson — Bob Dylan's Guitarist! Joel Paterson

Book of Love — All Original Members of Book of Love: Jade Lee, Lauren Roselli, Ted Ottaviano & Susan Ottaviano

Amy Helm and John — Amy Helm, outstanding singer & songwriter, also daughter of Levon Helm, w/John

John at the Big Pink house — John in Woodstock, New York at the Big Pink house

Side of the Big Pink house — Adjacent to the basement of The Basement Tapes

Phil Lesh — Gone but never forgotten, Grateful Dead Icon, Phil Lesh!

Booker T. Jones — Living Legend, Booker T. Jones

Phil Manzanera and John — Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music & John

Terri Hemmert — Chicago Radio Icon, Terri Hemmert

Debbie Harry and John — Debbie Harry of Blondie & John, December 2015, WTTW Soundstage Studio, Chicago, IL

Darryl Jones — Darryl Jones! Official non-official Rolling Stone and Chicago native

Graham Parker — Going strong after 50 years, Graham Parker, May 23, 2026

Lene Lovich — New Wave Music Legend, Lene Lovich, September 21, 2025

Billy Branch and Rosa — Chicago Blues Icon, Billy Branch and wife Rosa

Buddy Guy — Living Legend, Founding Father of the Blues, Buddy Guy (still smiling and rocking @ a young 86 years!)

Chris Stein — Founding Father of American Punk Rock - Chris Stein (with Debbie Harry)

Tom Parker Bowles — Tom Parker Bowles, Stepson of King Charles III

Suzanne Vega

Jim Peterik — Jim Peterik: Ides of March/Survivor/.38 Special

Peter Buck — The inimitable Peter Buck of R.E.M. & The Baseball Project

Don Was — Don Was, Detroit's Greatest Champion and Export

Cindy Wilson — Beautiful, sweet, and what a voice! Cindy Wilson of The B-52s!

Mark Mothersbaugh — Mark Mothersbaugh, Legendary Artistic Genius of Devo and a Multitude of Other Projects

Jon King — Jon King, Gang of Four, vocals, mesmerizing dancing and general onstage mayhem

Hugo Burnham — Hugo Burnham, Gang of Four, drums and percussion

Ted Leo — Ted Leo, Gang of Four's brilliant guitarist

Gail Greenwood — Gail Greenwood, Gang of Four's Killer Bassist

Jerome Dupree and Angie — Jerome Dupree, drummer of Morphine, w/Angie (photograph was lost in the shuffle for over a decade, returned to the public sphere 7/24/25)

Sara Lee — Sara Lee, former bassist of Gang of Four

Andy Gill — Andy Gill, former Gang of Four, gone much too soon. R.I.P.

Neal Francis

Sue Foley and John — Outstanding Blues Guitarist Sue Foley w/John

John and Adam Duritz — John & Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz — Adam Duritz of Counting Crows rejects the proffered glass straw, my earliest celebrity straw pic, November 2012 outside the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles

John Mayall — Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall

Sonny Landreth — Guitar virtuoso Sonny Landreth

Sixto Rodriguez — Sixto "Sugarman" Rodriguez

Why it matters

We are FAR beyond the tipping point of plastic pollution.

The problem

Humans ALL ingest one credit card per week, probably more.
The plastics we breathe (Washington Post)
Microplastics in the human brain (The Guardian)
You do yourself no favors by drinking bottled water, in fact, you probably do yourself quite a bit of harm: microplastics in bottled water (Newsweek)

The recycling myth

Plastic recycling is a distraction promoted by petrochemical companies: recycling is a fantasy and utter failure (CBS News)
Plastic recycling is a fraud promoted by plastic producers - the Fossil Fuel Industry: CBS News report
Why plastic recycling is a myth (ScienceAlert)
Sam Bee's report on plastic (video)

What you can do

Tips for reducing your microplastics consumption (EWG)
The Glass Straw Guy's PLASTIC FREE solution to dining leftovers: the doggy bag video
Carry a glass straw, and say no to the plastic one.
Glass Straw Guy in the News: Pioneer Press / Chicago Tribune

Please, don't recycle your plastic!

Glass Straw Guy's bestsellers

Books by John R. Lyman

Just a Fan cover

Just a Fan

Occasionally Living a Rock Star Life. Available in digital and print format.

justafan.space →

An American in Acapulco cover

An American in Acapulco

Dodging Raindrops and Bullets

anamericaninacapulco.com →

Portada de Un Gringo en Peligro en Acapulco

Un Gringo en Peligro en Acapulco

Sueños realizados y pesadillas inesperadas

Edición en español →

▶ Glass Straw Guy's live music video recordings ▶ Glass Straw Guy's disc golf videos